Disrupted Landscapes is a black and white photography project that Mandy Williams began in 2020.
The photographs draw on landscapes from the south coast of England, with a particular focus on the White Cliffs of Dover and the Dover Strait.
These locations function both as physical sites and as metaphorical spaces. Dover is geographically and politically significant, situated at the edge of the country and facing toward Europe. The chalk cliffs are highly symbolic, a place long associated with national defence and emblematic of an insular national identity. The area has also become a contested and politicised territory in the context of Brexit. While the White Cliffs have been used to reinforce a hostile nationalist narrative, they are also a site where anti racist protests and community activism have been highly visible. The region reflects divisions that have become increasingly evident across the country since the referendum, divisions that have erupted in racist riots across England and Northern Ireland and have been met by counter anti fascist demonstrations.
The initial photographs, completed during her MA, were influenced by interviews Williams conducted with EU nationals living in the UK, as well as with people who had arrived from outside the EU as refugees. These conversations explored how individuals had been affected by Brexit and were published as part of a free newspaper she produced titled England.
One participant wrote that Brexit had made them feel like an alien arriving from Mars rather than someone living just across the Channel, despite having lived in the UK for fifty years. Others expressed a sense of being under scrutiny and feeling unwelcome. For many, the country appeared increasingly hostile.
Williams began researching images in the public domain of Martian landscapes and other extraterrestrial geographies captured by NASA, exploring ways to incorporate these visual references into the coastal photographs. Some of the landforms bore visual similarities to terrestrial landscapes, particularly coastal formations seen from above, yet their environments are toxic and inhospitable. She gradually introduced elements of these alien geographies into her photographs in various ways, representing a landscape that had itself become alienated and potentially harmful.
Over the past five years the series has continued to evolve. New forms have included vertical triptychs in which images are linked through a connected narrative, fragments of chalk cut along geological lines and presented floating against black backgrounds, and photographs incorporating drawn interventions and tonal manipulation.
Due to the lockdown in early 2021, the Disrupted Landscapes work produced for her MA was not publicly exhibited at the time. A small number of works were shown in the following years, and in 2024 a larger installation was presented at Four Corners in London as part of a three person exhibition, and later at Photo Fringe within a two person show. Individual works from the series have since been featured in Photo Frome 2025 and the Head On Photo Festival in Sydney in 2025.
About Mandy Williams
Mandy Williams is a photographer, sound, and video artist based in London.
She studied History of Art at Warwick University and Communications (Film) at Goldsmiths, University of London. She completed an MA in Photography at the UAL London College of Communication in 2021.
She lived in Vancouver, Canada, from 1990 to 2002 and was represented by a gallery from 1996. During this period, her work was collected by the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography in Ottawa, which is now housed within the National Gallery of Canada.
She returned to England in 2002. From 2008 to 2013, her photographic work revolved around themes of the home. In 2013 she presented a solo exhibition that explored the aspirations of owning a home through documentary photography, media content, and interventions with strangers.
Since 2014, her projects have mainly focused on English coastal landscapes. She uses these landscapes metaphorically, treating them as spaces through which to explore themes of solitude and grief, while also reflecting on contemporary political and environmental issues.
Her work has been exhibited in the UK and internationally. Exhibitions include Print Now at the London Art Fair, Resonance Open at Raven Row, Disrupted Landscapes at Four Corners, and Earth Photo 2024 at the Royal Geographical Society. Her videos have been selected for numerous film festivals, winning Best Experimental Short in 2021 and Best Director, Documentary Short Film in 2024. She is also a member of several artistic collectives. [Official Website]
